Portee Station - Blanchetown
From $ 298.0 to $ 298.0
Portee provides guests with an experience of the Outback, the River Murray and a commercial sheep property complemented by four and a half star accommodation. The homestead, restored to its original grandeur, sited at the edge of the River Murray flood plain is shaded by river red gums. The property covers a diverse range of country, from the undulating scrubland where kangaroos, emus and wombats are plentiful, to the river with abundant bird life. Station tours enable guest to view all. Portee was first settled in 1841 as a sheep grazing property along the banks and flood plain of the River Murray. Rich in early South Australian history, the station property surrounds the Moorundie Creek inlet. This was the site of the home of Edward John Eyre, the famous early explorer and protector of the Aboriginal people on the River Murray 1841 to 1845. Portee remains as a commercial sheep station, now an area of some 23,000 acres. Our dining room seats 20 persons conference style; the meeting room a comfortable 16 persons, and the shearing shed a unique setting for larger groups. The property, has unlimited space for informal discussion and team building. Portee is considered a positive development in nature-based tourism with a proactive management program to re-establish native grasses and flora. Kangaroo, wombat and emu graze the paddocks in co-existence with the sheep. Geographically it is the epi-centre for the breeding of the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat. The mallee scrub joins the wetlands of the Murray River system to provide home to numerous species of water birds, parrots and bush birds creating an ornithologists delight. Large numbers and a wide variety of bird life is usually present adjacent to the homestead providing easy viewing for guests. Four-wheel drive journeys into the paddocks allow guests to unobtrusively view the fauna in their natural habitat. Day to day activities of the station which may include mustering and droving sheep, the water run and sheep work in the woolshed or yards, are all of special interest to visitors. Observing the station dogs working the sheep is a special highlight.